Secrets

The Fountain of Knowledge

I walked through the door, and a whole other world overcame me. I gasped in surprise at the huge room that stood before me. Marble columns shot up from the ground and a fountain stood in the center of the room. In the center of the fountain stood a very large, stone brain, and etched on the rim of the fountain were the words: Power is gained by sharing knowledge, not hoarding it.

My breath on pause, I circled the fountain twice, searching for any missing clues. Nothing. I tuned toward Drake, who was muttering a strangely familiar phrase underneath his breath.

"Drake, what are you muttering?" I asked, curious.

"Wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure. -Rowena Ravenclaw. I swear that I've heard that somewhere. The only question is: where? I think that you mortals have made--"

"Wait, mortals? You do know that you are a mortal as well...right? Who are you, Drake?"

He just stared at me, not budging one bit.

"I deserve to know who my partner truly is."

Finally, he hung his head in shame and whispered, "If you must know, I am no mortal. I am a demigod, son of a god and a mortal. My father, Emancius, took me away from this world many eons ago and raised me to be his heir. The next Ruler of the Gods of Wilo. Unfortunately, before my training was complete, my father got into a fight with a Dark One. Dark Ones are evil, vile beings that hunger for power, and he finally killed my father. The Gods had decided millennia ago that if my father ever fell, his status would be taken by the one who caused his death. And so, the Dark One, Omaculous, is now ruler of The Gods of Wilo. The Gods did not want to risk their lives against such a powerful Dark One, as Dark Ones are the only beings powerful enough to permanently kill gods, so Wilo fell into a state of chaos and destruction. Omaculous sealed off the portal connecting Earth and Wilo, but before he did, I managed to escape."

"That's how I won the last Skull Games. Because I'm a demigod. I haven't been able to contact any of the other Gods, so I stayed low until I started running out of food. That's why I didn't back out of the Skull Games this year."

"Wait, so you can back out of the Skull Games?"

He paused, "Well, you could, for a fine."

I mumbled to myself, "Great, so one guy is an undead shade and another is an all powerful half-god. Wonderful."

Drake leaned closer and asked, "What?"

"Nothing," I sighed, "and aren't we supposed to take a sip from the Fountain?"

He nodded and tenderly took a step toward the Fountain. He then walked slowly to the edge of the Fountain, leaned down, and scooped up a handful of the golden liquid. He turned to me, smiled, and slurped the entire thing down. His hands fell to his sides, and he wore a slightly dazed expression.

"Harley..." he whispered, and I at once ran to his side, "...I can see the secrets of the universe."

"Really?" I asked, practically boiling over from excitement.

He laughed, then returned to a serious expression. "No." I slapped him upside the head, and he coaxed, "C'mon, try it. Tastes like vanilla to me."

I shook my head and walked away. "Too much power in my hands isn't a good thing." He smiled, and answered, "Let's get going, then. We must undo a curse."

We walked to the door through which we had entered, and an idea came to me.

"Drake?"

"Hmm?"